The DC Community Heritage Project

Humanities DC and the DC Historic Preservation Office (DCHPO) created the DC Community Heritage Project (DCCHP) Grant in 2005 as a way to support residents at a grassroots level working to preserve their own communities. This unique partnership between a government agency and a non-profit organization continues to strengthen historic preservation and has helped form a network of local preservationists who proudly document the history and culture of the city. Before DCCHP, accelerating demographic changes and new building projects meant that neighborhood history often got lost in the shuffle of a transient culture.

Showcase and Symposium

Each December, the DCCHP grantees present a public program at which they display their final products. The event includes a symposium portion that provides expert advice on best practices in the public history and historic preservation fields as well as theoretical and philosophical sessions.

Ambassadors’ Workshops

The DCCHP sponsors three annual workshops aimed at building the capacity and knowledge of former and prospective grantees, amateur historians, and anyone else interested in preserving the history and culture of their neighborhoods. Past sessions have focused on personal digital archiving, videography, and oral history.

House History Days

The DCCHP, with the DC Public Library Washingtoniana Division, and the Historical Society of Washington, DC, sponsors two House History Days per year. Each day consists of 2 identical workshops (one in the morning and one in the afternoon) during which participants are taught how to research the history of a historic property using the collections at Washingtoniana and HSWDC.

Additional Resources from the DC Historic Preservation Office

* This program was supported through a Historic Preservation Fund Grant administered by the National Park Service, Department of Interior. Funds were used for the identification, protection, and/or rehabilitation of historic properties and cultural resources in the District of Columbia. Under Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, the U.S. Department of the Interior prohibits discrimination on the basis of race, color, national origin, or disability in its federally assisted programs. If you believe that you have been discriminated against in any program, activity, or facility as described above, or if you desire further information, please write to: Office of Equal Opportunity, U.S. Department of the Interior, 1849 C Street, N.W., Washington, D.C. 20240.